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Friday, February 06, 2009

OnOffOnOffOnOff On Again

Plans to create a personal prelature for former Anglicans in the Catholic Church could lead to a flood of converts, according to a senior figure in the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England.

The cleric, who asked not to be named, was speaking after an Australian magazine announced that the Vatican is progressing with plans to bring the 400,000-strong Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) into the Church.

(snip)

According to the reports the Traditional Anglican Communion would be allowed to form a personal prelature, modelled on that of Opus Dei, to accommodate the clergy and lay members of the group.

According to a Vatican insider, Pope Benedict himself is the driving force behind the plan and has linked it to the Year of St Paul, which ends in June.

(snip)

The senior Anglican cleric told the Herald that such a move would make it far easier for Anglicans to move en masse when, as expected, the first Church of England women bishops are ordained. Currently, many are unwilling to lose their Anglican identity in the Catholic Church or place themselves under the authority of unsympathetic bishops.

An announcement is expected after Easter this year. A Vatican source said: "Supporters of the plan are unhappy that it has taken so long, that people's souls are at stake. The Pope is really behind it. The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity is against it, but if the Holy Father wants this to happen, it will."

Read it all. Yet again, don't hold your breath but this is one rumor that refuses to die, despite repeated denials. Let us hope and let us pray.